this is "world news." tonight, a stunning resignation. the head of the cia, one of the nation's most respected generals, david petraeus, steps down, citing an extramarital affair. tonight, the shockwaves the personal and public fall of the man in charge of the nation's secrets. truth and dare. the president speaks at the white house for the first time since his victory, saying it is time to end the gridlock and warning republicans he thinks the voters sent a message about what needs to be done. real money. hol holly day travel prices skyrocket. we show you how to save hundreds of dollars. do you know which day of the week you should be buying those plane tickets?

and lincoln. the dream of director steven spielberg. the reluctant of daniel day lewis. tonight, for the first time here, together, telling how they brought a mythic president to life. our "persons of the week." good evening. simply put, it was a shock today, when we learned that the general who symbolized the discipline and honor of the american military, the man entrusted with the vital secrets of the cia, general david petraeus, resigned, citing an extramarital affair. the first cia director in history to resign this way. and the story is still breaking. so, we go straight to abc's senior foreign affairs correspondent, martha raddatz. >> reporter: diane, this news is truly stunning. this is no one in the military who was viewed as more

disciplined and, frankly, more concerned with his own image and own career. but the seriousness of having a cia director involved in an extramarital affair cannot be overplayed. as cia director, petraeus held all of the nation's secrets, but was keeping a big one of his own. today, in a statement to cia employees, the man considered a national hero by some acknowledged the affair and what he called his extremely poor judgment. "such behavior is unacceptable," the statement said. "both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours." petraeus went to the white house yesterday to turn in his resignation, the same place he has so frequently been called upon to serve. >> great privilege to serve with our young men and women. >> reporter: today, in a statement, president obama praised petraeus' dedication and patriotism, and said his

thoughts and prayers are with dave and holly petraeus. holly and dave petraeus have been married 38 years. she was the daughter of the commandant of west point during petraeus' years at the military academy. petraeus went on to a distinguished military career in iraq under george bush's tenure -- >> general david petraeus was asked to do a very difficult job and he did it with distinction and honor. >> reporter: and then, for president obama, into afghanistan and then, the cia. but that is why this is so troubling. certainly, others have been involved in extramarital affairs in congress and elsewhere, but having the director of central intelligence involved in an illicit affair with world leaders friend and foe watching his every move and almost certainly looking for you haver in shlt doctor vulnerability vulnerabilities. there is of course the question of why he chose to resign now. officials tell abc news, the fbi was investigates petraeus'

biographer, paula broadwell, for strange activity on the internet and then some e-mails were discovered in the course of that investigation that raised concern. diane? >> martha raddatz reporting in. and now we go to abc's white house correspondent jake tapper here to tell us what the white house is saying tonight. jake? >> reporter: well, diane, senior white house officials tell us the overwhelming emotion here is surprise and, of course, sorrow, for a colleague and his family. white house officials were told about this on wednesday, the day after president obama was re-elected. they were told by the director of national intelligence, james clapper. on thursday, president obama was informed about this situation. the entire situation, the fbi investigation, as well as the affair. general petraeus called the national security adviser, said he wanted to talk to the president. at that meeting yesterday, he offered to resign. president obama thought about it and today called petraeus and accepted that resignation. the new acting director of the cia will be the number two, the

deputy director, with whom president obama has worked closely during the osama bin laden raid, planning, for instance, and he has the inside track. but this does come at an awkward time for the cia. they are going to be called to congress next week to talk about what went wrong at benghazi and, of course, the cia is under constant pressure because of the threat of terrorist attack, diane. >> thank you, jake. and jake will be back in a moment on other news. first, we turn to abc's david muir who brings us the personal story of the general and his wife. >> reporter: david petraeus was in many respects the public face of the wars. the highly decorated general often appearing before congress, one of the masterminds behind the surge in iraq that ultimately helped bring the war to a close. he thent went to afghanistan, and then the call to head the cia. diane, with the general as he prepared to return. >> are you ready to come back? ready for the cia? >> well, i feel very fortunate to have been provided such an opportunity to continue to serve and to contribute, if confirmed.

>> reporter: taking over the cia last year, his wife holly looking on. married 38 years to his wife holly, petraeus met her before graduating from west point. she was from a long line of army royalty. her great great grandfather fighting in the civil war. her own father a retired four-star general. petraeus last year speaking of the young woman he met at west point. >> i also met the woman who would become my wife. indeed, the best decision i ever made was replying, "sure, happy to do it," when asked if i would escort a visiting coed to a weekend football game. i'll never be able to adequately express my love and appreciation for all that she has done but i can say here, this morning, thanks, holl. i love you. >> reporter: over their nearly four decades together the family moved 24 times following petraeus' career. holly raising two children. and if petraeus was celebrated for military discipline, for holly, it was devotion. often there, as troops came

home, hugging soldiers as if they were family. she now holds a federal role, helping returning service members find financial security and fight off banks that prey on them while they're away. >> i'm also a long-time military spouse. >> reporter: army wives have said "she's one of us." just this year, she spoke about her favorite poem, and it's premise. >> life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how i react to it. >> reporter: holly petraeus' chosen words there. "newsweek" publishing a list of general david petraeus' roles for living on the daily beast website. number five, we will all make mistakes. the key to recognizing them and admitting them and to learn from them and take off the rear view mirror, drive on, avoid making them again. >> loyal soldiers have read all of them. thank you, david. as we said, jake tapper is back, because there was other news from the white house today. the president issued a challenge to republicans to end the gridlock over the economy and saying, he thinks voters sent a message, lund clear.

>> reporter: in his first official appearance since re-election, the president signaled to republicans that he is primed for battle. >> i refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. >> reporter: unless he and congress come to a deal, the fragile u.s. economy is headed towards something called the fiscal cliff, on january 1st. $6 trillion in tax increases that will hit all working americans and $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, leading to what experts predict will be another recession. the biggest sticking point is whether the bush tax cuts for those who make more than $200,000 a year should expire. the president says they should, it's a case he made over and over on the campaign trail. >> tax cuts. tax cuts. try a tax cut. >> reporter: but yesterday, republican house speaker john boehner told diane sawyer that was a nonstarter. >> is it on the table to talk about? >> i made clear -- >> the wealthier americans pitch in. >> i made clear yesterday that raising tax rates is unacceptable. and frankly, it couldn't even pass the house.

>> reporter: still, today, the president said the debate had been settled, with his victory tuesday night. >> this was a central question during the election. it was debated over and over again. and on tuesday night, we found out that the majority of americans agree with my approach. >> reporter: and he threw down the gauntlet, saying everyone agrees on keeping the middle class tax cuts for those who make under $200,000 a year. so, he say, congress should act on that now. >> and i've got the pen ready to sign the bill right away. i'm ready to do it. i'm ready to do it. >> reporter: and diane, president obama heads to asia next week. before he leaves, he is calling for a meeting of the top house and senate democrat and republican leaders to at least begin to try to find a compromise if one is possible. diane? >> but give us a reality check, jake. how quickly could this happen? >> reporter: i don't think quickly at all. congress tends to act not until the very last second. and if it stays true to its

form, that's what will happen here, as well. diane? >> thank you so much, jake. and be sure to watch george stephanopoulos and his team of experts and analysts as they gather on this sunday on the roundtable on "this week." now, we have news tonight from the battered storm zone, 11 days after the superstorm, two days after the nor'easter. starting today in new york city, gas rationing, based on the number of your license plate and the lines for gas and cars and on foot, still stretching long. 25% of the 800 gas stations in the area, shut down. and the city says this could go on another two weeks. about a half a million people are still without power in new york and new jersey. and still ahead here on "world news," a secret to saving a lot of real money this holiday. what is the best day of the week to buy your plane tickets? do you know? that answer and more when we come back. okay, now here's our holiday gift list.

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today, we learned that the number of plane tickets bought for christmas and the new year has already increased 50% over last year. and the prices are rising, too, so, we asked abc's dan harris to find simple ways to save hundreds of dollars. dan? >> reporter: okay, so, say you're a family of four in atlanta and you want to fly to new york city for the macy's thanksgiving day parade, or for some christmas shopping. how do you save real money? tip number one -- buy now, or not long from now. prices are only going up. >> at this point, it's time to purchase your ticket. >> reporter: check this out. a non-stop flight from atlanta to new york for christmas costs $270 today. if you wait two weeks, it'll be $70 more. for a family of four, that's 280 bucks. tip number two -- fly on off-days. if you're willing to travel on thanksgiving day, as opposed to the day before, you will save hundreds. a flight from atlanta to new york goes down $344 a person. for our family of four, that's $1,376.

>> and not only that, you'll find that the airport is empty. the lines are few and you're probably even going to see a few empty seats on your flight. >> reporter: tip number three -- if you're shopping online, try wednesdays. a lot of airlines start their sales on tuesdays and by wednesday, other airlines are matching those sales. and what if you're going by train? the tip is similar. travel on off-days. if you take act track from boston to d.c. on thanksgiving instead of the day before, you'll save about $300 a ticket, or $1,200 for a family of four. what about if you are driving? the best tips we've heard is to fill up at your destination, if prices are cheaper there. and to fill up well before the peak travel days, because the lines will be much shorter. whatever your mode of transportation, the way to save is to make a plan now and act on it. as one expert said, this is not a great year for procrastination. >> thank you so much, dan. dan harris reporting on "real money" tonight. and coming up, a man who

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and now, our "instant index." the people and pictures that got us talking today. starting with someone who reminds us, good deeds can be rewarded in unexpected ways. john turner traveled from chicago to new jersey to help with the cleanup after hurricane sandy. then, after a long day of hauling debris, he bought a few lottery tickets. well, he won. $100,000. good karma, in action. and a picture in the news. this is not for the faint of heart. take a look. up close and personal with a great white. no cage. the divers heart-stoppingly close to an 18-foot real life jaws off the coast of mexico. the shark swam up to the divers. experienced photographs, who say the key is to stay relaxed and make eye contact. and, maybe trust the shark has already had dinner. and we do want to hear from you. tell us which pictures and people and quotes capture your imagination every day. tell us online, at abcnews.com

or tweet them to us, #instantindex. coming up next, steven spielberg, daniel day lewis. two hollywood legends, together, telling us about bringing a monumental president to life. begin.

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and finally tonight, our "persons of the week." the movie "lincoln" opens nationally next week, and it's a portrait of 42 days in the life of a man bearing the weight of a crushing responsibility. a man determined to pass an amend pt, ending slavery and hold the nation together. the director, steven spielberg says he's been drawn to lincoln as a timeless, moral compass, from the day he first saw the lincoln memorial, almost 60 years ago. >> i have this recollection from my childhood, when my uncle took me to the lincoln memorial. you are lead into this dark, kind of rotunda, and there is a giant sitting in a chair. >> what did you see in his face? do you remember? >> i felt he was looking directly at me. and that was it. >> a boy who grew up to be a director, carrying a dream and knowing there was only one actor for this role, but for nearly

eight years, daniel day lewis, who grew up in england and ireland, said no. it would be impossible to embody america's most dearly loved president. >> it seemed like just an important thing. last thing i wanted to do was to desecrate the memory of the most dearly loved president of this country. it took some time. it took a lot of time and a lot of shyness around. >> at a meeting last year, spielberg kept seeing lincoln in his face and, so, sneaked out his camera. you snapped a photo of -- >> yeah, i didn't tell him i did that. >> when did you do that? >> oh, a long time ago. you don't need to know about that. and i just went with my little, like that, so, i hip shot. it was just right off the hip. >> i love the idea of you as paparazzi. >> exactly. exactly. >> and then, there it was, on the screen. lincoln. daunting, monumental, fully human. >> he was awkward to look at,

his voice didn't fit his stature. and he would just disarm a room with a crazy story that had no relevance to the issue. >> time is a great thickener of things. >> i suppose it is. actually, i have no idea what you mean by that. >> if no one latches at the stories, he'd be the first one to guffaw at the story he'd be telling. >> and the actor who grew up in another country found abraham lincoln's famous ready voice. >> one day, i got a little cassette tape in the mail from daniel and when i turned on the cassette player, i heard the president speaking to me. >> i like our chances now. >> and so they were ready to go with a brilliant screen play. >> you are more reptile than man, george. >> and the noblest goal. inside the film, there are details from a time capsule. kentucky historical society let them use the real sound of

lincoln's real watch. >> that gentle ticking, that's the ticking that lincoln heard 150 years ago. >> a man, forced to make wrenching decisions. and a different portrait of the wife by his side. >> mrs. lincoln. >> madame president, if you will. >> mary lincoln, who had once been the girl who every man courted, chose this rough country lawyer becauause she sa something in him perhaps before he did. sally field, in a marriage searing and loving, telling her husband that he alone must end slavery and the civil war. >> if you fail -- >> and so, one man creates one nation with a vision of what we can be at our best. >> shall we stop this bleeding? as inaccessible as he seems

initially, because one stands at a 5-year-old in front of a monument, you discover so quickly you just don't ever want to let him go. >> and so we choose daniel day lewis and steven spielberg for bringing us "lincoln," the movie, which is distributed by our parent company, disney, opening next friday. and lincoln, the president, who always believed we will rise toward the better angels of our nature. and we thank you for watching on this big week in america. we're always here abcnews.com. "nightline" later. and david muir will be right here, all weekend. good night.